No Excuses

Patrick Southern

04/16/2011

Conditions weren't favorable for the pass-happy attack offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen is installing at West Virginia during the team's Saturday scrimmage, but quarterback Geno Smith said the heavy rains in Morgantown were a chance for the offense to show off its competitive attitude.

"We're just out here playing, you know, no matter what," the rising junior said after his 7-of-13 passing, 113-yard effort during WVU's first officiated scrimmage of the spring. "It's raining. The weather's not good, but we're not making any excuses for ourselves. We're out there trying to move the ball."

One way to combat the elements is to throw fewer passes, something Holgorsen may have done by design as the afternoon rain intensified during the Mountaineers' ninth practice of the spring.

That included some runs in down-and-distance situations few might expect from such a wide-open offense, as running backs converted some long-yardage situations to keep drives alive Saturday.

Smith said Holgorsen may have called those plays because the defense, like reporters and other observers, may have been surprised to see them at those particular moments.

"I just think our coaches understand defenses so much that they can really assess what a defense is doing and take what they give us," Smith said. "That's the key thing in an offense. You've got to take what the defense gives you, because you don't want to force things."

Smith touched on those and other topics in this interview, conducted just after the scrimmage was concluded Saturday.